Labour moves to protect football fans with return of governance bill

Labour will beef up protections for football fans, including on moves to change stadium locations or club names, as well as committing to imposing “fair financial flow” between the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL).

The king’s speech sees a return for the football governance bill, which the previous government could not pass before the election. Labour sources said the new bill would provide more safeguarding of club heritage and bring in rules on responsible owners.

There will be a new independent football regulator – as proposed in the previous bill – and rules to ensure there can be no future for any proposals similar to the disastrous European Super League of a closed shop for top teams.

A government briefing document suggests there will be new statutory protections for club names and a requirement for clubs to seek the regulator’s approval for a stadium sale or relocation.

The bill is likely to hand the new independent financial regulator backstop powers to impose a settlement between the Premier League and the EFL, whose talks are now deadlocked. In March the top-flight clubs halted their negotiations over additional funding for the EFL in order to focus their efforts on new Premier League financial controls.

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Rick Parry, the chair of the EFL, said in response to the announcement that they hoped the bill would progress quickly.

“It is clear from the many conversations I have had since the general election result that the football pyramid matters to those inside and outside the game,” he said. “It is a unique strength of English football and one we are ready to collectively protect through the introduction of enhanced regulation as well as improved financial distributions so we can continue to serve the best interests of clubs, their supporters, and the communities they live in for many years to come.”

A Premier League spokesperson said it was “critical that the regulation of this highly successful industry is proportionate and effective, to ensure that English football can continue to be world-leading and deliver for millions of fans”.

Niall Couper, the CEO of Fair Game, which represents 34 men’s professional football clubs throughout the English football pyramid, said: “Football’s financial flow is seriously flawed – the gaps between the divisions have been growing wider and wider over the last 20 years.

“At the moment, for every £1,000 given to a Premier League club from the current broadcast deal, just 14p goes to a club in the National League North or South. But the devil will be in the detail. The concept of backstop powers needs to go further. The new regulator must also have the powers to ensure any new deal between leagues addresses football’s flawed financial flow. Without it, football will be doomed to repeat the failures of the past.”

The bill will pass all of the original proposals from the last government, including requiring clubs to demonstrate sound basic financial practices and to protect the core assets and value of the club – such as the stadium.

The government said the bill would address what it said was the “underlying fragility of the English football pyramid” especially for lower league clubs, meaning there was a “high and growing risk of financial failure among clubs”. Across the Premier League and Championship combined, net debt was £4.7bn in 2023.